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Kids range in age from 13 down to 2. Hubby is as picky (or pickier) than most kids. I need ideas for dinners that are: #1 - quick to make, #2 - reasonably healthy, and #3 - budget-friendly.
I've been tracking out spending and it's ridiculous how much we spend on food. I go to the grocery each week and spend $150-200 on food & household stuff, and never seem to make it through the week on that. I buy snacks for the kids, and by Tuesday or Wednesday they are gone.
We usually eat out 1 night a week because of schedule, but it's something fairly cheap like Pizza or Mexican.
On top of the groceries and eating out, we're also paying for the kids' lunches at school and mine & hubby's lunches (most of the time) during the week. I mean, it is INSANE how much we spend just on food!!!
I need any tips, tricks, recipes, anything you can think of that would help. I'm tired of spending $$$ at the store and not having enough to put 3 meals together.
My mom used to have sort of a food schedule....not the same thing each night of the week, but she definitely had a rotation for weeknight meals. Maybe that would work? You know...Meatloaf Monday, Taco Tuesday, etc. etc.
You'd think after having 3 kids and being my age, I would have this figured out but I don't.
I try to go shopping only once a week, so I plan a week's worth of meals. I used to buy big pork loins at Costco and cut them into smaller roasts. One would go into the crockpot with broth and seasonings for several hours, then shredded. Add BBQ sauce and make sandwiches one night, enchiladas or burritos another. Or I'd roast two big chickens on Sunday and use the leftover meat in soup, rice dishes, or stew. A lasagna or other deep dish can take two nights to eat, or you might have some leftovers for lunches. Spaghetti once a week will knock a day off your planning.
When it's time to make my next week's menu, I look at what I still have on hand. If I still have peppers after making stir fry, I might make fajitas, or an Asian noodle salad. I might need a few things for another lasagna. I make a lot of stir fry and soup, so I usually some vegetables left that I can configure into something else rather than coming up with a new dish with completely different ingredients.
I let my kids pick what to eat one night a week, but the catch is that it has to be something we all like. For instance, one of my daughters loves macaroni and cheese, but her brother hates it and my husband doesn't really like it either. The kids help on their dinner nights.
Check out Rachel Ray's Week-in-a-Day stuff. It's 5 nights of meals that you do all the prep work for on one weekend day, she has shopping lists, and each night you pull out the prepped stuff, maybe cook up a pasta or rice, toss a salad, and there's dinner. Sounds just like what you need.
I was exactly the same, it actually became a major issue for me.
I used to have a Cooking Day where I would make several meals and freeze them.
I kept freezer goods for my vegetarian.
A good old fashioned roast is still a staple - you get the leftover veges for meatless Monday...a vege focaccia is my favorite.
Homemade burgers were popular, and we all liked homemade macaroni cheese.
My kids still line up for my lasagna and I always served that with salad.
They would even eat tuna casserole. They seemed to be lazy eaters, wanting soft food they didn't have to chew.
Now I'm on my own the go-to seems to be steak, fish or chicken with salad greens only. Very easy, healthy and filling.
I really recommend you keep it simple and freeze as many single portions as you can for those nights you really cant be bothered.
Also if I had my time again I would make food prep a family affair - expect each 10+ kid to cook something once a week. It's too much responsibility for one person especially when you're working full time as well, and your kids need to be taught how anyway.
If you get super organized you can save yourself $100s a year on food.
1. Shop sales. Stock up on whatever deals you find.
2. Buy in bulk. Even if you don't belong to Costco or Sams, places like Wal-Mart have extra large packages of most food items.
3. Plan your weekly menus in advance and cook it all on one day like Sunday.
4. Start taking leftover for lunch.
5. Do a lot of "oven" meals. I love using my oven to cook. Prep is usually 10-15 minutes and then everything is thrown into the oven. This frees up your time since you aren't standing over a pot.
6. If you can afford it, buy a large family size pressure cooker. It speeds of the cooking time for large meals like meat & veggies. A couple of weeks ago, I made chops and potatoes in about 18 minutes. It lasted all week.
7. Teach your older children how to cook. They can help prep and cook (supervised).
Last edited by charlygal; 05-11-2015 at 06:10 PM..
All true, and keep i mind the following which was first stated (I believe) by Barry can't recall his last name the founder of the Zone Diet. He points out that most people only eat about ten meals . We only have about ten different meals that we are comfortable with so you don't need thirty or forty to get by.
I tend to make larger amounts when a key ingredient is on sale and freeze half for later. Chicken breaststroke on sale? Marinate and grill a bunch...dice and freeze. later they can be tossed into any pasta/rice and veggie dish or put on top of a salad. Make a huge pot of stew when beef is on sale...freeze half for later.
Snacks...no clue...we didn't tend to buy packaged ones...lots of fruit mostly. Buy a reasonable amount and tell the kids when they are done they are done for the week.
How much is spent on school lunches every week/month? Perhaps you could cut down some/plan better by having the children bring their own lunch to school. No, it's not "cool," but being cool is often costly and unaffordable.
Apart from that, I don't really have any suggestions, but will share what my family does:
I live in a household of 7 in NYC. We spend about $65-$70 per week shopping at Chinese and African supermarkets in Brooklyn (they have GREAT prices). At the supermarkets, we'll buy frozen fish for frying or baking, chicken legs, goat, potatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, broccoli, brown rice, onions, etc. We may also spend another $30-$50 a week on fruits from the wholesaler and making Trader Joe's runs for organic milk and pasta, but that's not a consistent thing.
We don't have a set menu planned, but we do repeat meals regularly. So, for instance, we may have fried fish dinners 2-3 times a week (fish fried in cornmeal and served with a slaw and/or other sides); the fish actually keeps very well in the refrigerator, so we can always have leftovers. Then there's pasta day, which is quick and efficient, and also serves as leftovers for lunch. We'll also bake chicken, which basically wraps up the most important meal planning for the week. If people in my household want snacks, they can eat some fruit leftover from the wholesalers or make a sandwich/have some leftovers. And breakfast will be cereal, etc.
I like to pre-make homemade meatballs and freeze them. You could also buy frozen meatballs. Having them on hand makes it easy to throw together meatballs in tomato sauce, sweet and sour meatballs, meatballs in brown gravy, Swedish meatballs, etc. Just make the sauce, toss in the meatballs and simmer until the meatballs are warm. Then, you can just boil pasta or make rice (I use instant because it's done in 5 minutes. Some people don't like it, but the people I feed don't notice/care).
I also keep cooked chicken in the freezer. I buy 10lb bags of leg quarters, boil them in my stock pot, drain, add seasoning, and divide into bags. It's great for soups (although it's getting too hot for that now) and casseroles, or I can add BBQ sauce for BBQ chicken sandwiches. You can also grill or bake chicken, cube it or cut it into strips, and freeze. I always add chicken broth or stock to my chicken when I freeze it to keep it from drying out.
You could also try making casseroles and whatnot and freezing them. I honestly prefer to just have my meats pre-cooked; then, I can make whatever we feel like eating instead of being stuck with whatever is pre-made. Plus, for me, thawing out a whole pre-cooked lasagna and baking it takes longer than making one from scratch, although I suppose it does cut down on dishes.
Also -- your crock pot is your friend. If you don't have one, get one! They don't cost much and are a lifesaver. I love using mine for soups, stews, etc., but again, it's getting too hot. You can "roast" a whole chicken, make pulled pork or chicken, make just about any type of meat with a yummy sauce, make pot roast, etc. etc. etc. Just put it all in in the morning, and come home to dinner!
Also, don't think that you have to make some huge dinner every night! That was my biggest mistake. Make something easy every once in a while. There's nothing wrong with having leftovers for dinner, or just making sandwiches and serving with a salad. Sometimes I like to throw a couple of chicken breasts on the George Foreman, steam a bag of frozen broccoli in the microwave and make a package of Knorr rice sides, which is ready in 7 minutes. There's nothing wrong with that!
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